Couples donate kidney in 'triple chain’ that helps three patients

Three people donated kidneys to the partners of other patients in a rare
"triple chain" - because none were a match for their own loved ones.

Jacinta and Bryn OrmerodPhoto: Manchester Evening News

7:30AM GMT 23 Feb 2012

Jacinta Ormerod, 58, had a transplant using a kidney from an unknown male donor at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

In return, her husband Bryn, 60, donated one of his kidneys to be used for another transplant.

Two other couples involved in the scheme also each gave a kidney - and received one in return. None of the donors were a match for their own partner.

The unusual procedure meant three patients getting a desperately-needed new kidney. It is thought to be one of the first three-way transplants to have been carried out under the National Pairing Scheme.

Miss Ormerod, a former guesthouse owner, of Higher Moorgate Farm, Heywood, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said having a healthy kidney was like winning the lottery.

She said: "I now have a man's kidney, a large kidney which they had to put in upside down and literally jam in to get it working.

"Three friends and Bryn had joined the national donor scheme in the hope I could get a match but it was Bryn who came out as the one who could be involved in the three-way transplant."

Miss Ormerod, who has also battled skin cancer for 17 years, described the operation as one of 'military precision'.

She said: "I was in the operating theatre when my kidney was on its way. Bryn was at hospital too having a kidney removed for someone else.

"Now it has been done, it's fantastic. It's remarkable how different I feel. The elation when it was actually working and I found out Bryn was okay, was incredible. He gave someone else his kidney so someone could help me. It was better than winning the lottery."

Miss Ormerod, who was born with Spina Bifida, had a previous kidney swap, but it failed.

Her husband then joined the National Pairing Scheme in a bid to find a matching kidney donor.

Miss Ormerod, who met Bryn when she was 15, said: "The fact is, six people are happier. I just feel lucky every day. I'd like to thank the staff and surgeons at Manchester Royal Infirmary for making it all possible.

"I just hope this kidney stays for the next 20 years."

Both Bryn - a director of residential homes - and Jacinta want to raise awareness of the donor register and the National Pairing Scheme.

They have written to the anonymous donor couple thanking them for 'giving us our lives back'. Bryn said: "We don't know who they are, they don't know who we are, but maybe we can see them one day. "The pairing scheme is incredible. It's so important to be on the transplant list. You can make an unbelievable difference to someone's life." Afshin Tavakoli, Renal Transplant Consultant at the MRI, said: "Jacinta's case was very complex and it was thanks to the hard work of the whole team that it was successful. "As one of the busiest transplant units in the country, we carry out a lot of complex transplants and the pooled donor programme allows us to help patients who may have otherwise still been on the transplant waiting list. "Our team continue to work hard for the success of the transplant programme and that is always helped when we are able to see patients doing so well after transplant. "We are really pleased to see Jacinta's positive progress and wish her all the best for the future."